'Wolf of Wall Street' star Jonah Hill: The $60,000 man

Jonah Hill took a major pay cut to be in 'Wolf of Wall Street' and work with director Martin Scorsese.

Jonah Hill took a major pay cut to be in 'Wolf of Wall Street' and work with director Martin Scorsese.

Oliver Gettell

"The Wolf of Wall Street" may feature three hours of nonstop greed and rapacity, but Jonah Hill, who plays swindler Donnie Azoff in the film, doesn't seem to be in danger of following in his character's footsteps. The actor recently revealed that he took a payday of $60,000 — peanuts by Hollywood standards — to work with director Martin Scorsese.

In a radio interview with Howard Stern on Tuesday, Hill said he took the minimum amount allowed by the Screen Actors Guild, which he estimated to be "something like 60 grand before commissions and taxes."

Hill told Stern, "They gave me the lowest amount of money possible, that was their offer. And I said, 'I will sign the paper tonight. Fax me the papers tonight. I want to sign them tonight before they change their mind.'"

When asked "Did you get a piece of the —" Hill cut Stern off with a quick "nope."

Hill said the shoot lasted nearly seven months and added, "I would sell my house and give [Scorsese] all my money to work for him. This isn't what you make money for. You do '22 Jump Street' or you do other things and you can pay your rent" (referring to his forthcoming sequel to the hit 2012 comedy "21 Jump Street"). "I would have done anything in the world. I would do it again in a second."

Though he didn't take home a particularly fat check, Hill did earn his second Academy Award nomination with his performance in "The Wolf of Wall Street," for supporting actor. On the morning that nominations were announced, Hill told The Times that the role showed him "that excess leads to a bad road, a bad ending. It taught me about balance."